A physical description of magnetic helicity evolution in the presence of reconnection lines

1991 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew N. Wright ◽  
Mitchell A. Berger
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Magnetic Reynolds Number ◽  
Magnetic Helicity ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Flux Tubes ◽  
Physical Description ◽  
Reconnection Region ◽  
Field Geometry ◽  
Field Lines

The dissipation of relative magnetic helicity due to the presence of a resistive reconnection region is considered. We show that when the reconnection region has a vanishing cross-section, helicity is conserved, in agreement with previous studies. It is also shown that in two-dimensional systems reconnection can produce highly twisted reconnected flux tubes. Reconnection at a high magnetic Reynolds number generally conserves helicity to a good approximation. However, reconnection with a small Reynolds number can produce significant dissipation of helicity. We prove that helicity dissipation in two-dimensional configurations is associated with the retention of some of the inflowing magnetic flux by the reconnection region, vr. When the reconnection site is a simple Ohmic conductor, all of the magnetic field parallel to the reconnection line that is swept into vr is retained. (In contrast, the inflowing magnetic field perpendicular to the line is annihilated.) We are able to relate the amount of helicity dissipation to the retained flux. A physical interpretation of helicity dissipation is developed by considering the diffusion of magnetic field lines through vr. When compared with helicity-conserving reconnection, the two halves of a reconnected flux sheet appear to have slipped relative to each other parallel to the reconnection line. This provides a useful method by which the reconnected field geometry can be constructed: the incoming flux sheets are ‘cut’ where they encounter vr, allowed to slip relative to each other, and then ‘pasted’ together to form the reconnected flux sheets. This simple model yields estimates for helicity dissipation and the flux retained by vr in terms of the amount of slippage. These estimates are in agreement with those expected from the governing laws.

Magnetic damping of jets and vortices

1995 ◽  
Vol 299 ◽  
pp. 153-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. A. Davidson
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Angular Momentum ◽  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Lorentz Force ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Magnetic Damping ◽  
Field Lines ◽  
The Magnetic Field

It is well known that the imposition of a static magnetic field tends to suppress motion in an electrically conducting liquid. Here we look at the magnetic damping of liquid-mental flows where the Reynolds number is large and the magnetic Reynolds number is small. The magnetic field is taken as uniform and the fluid is either infinite in extent or else bounded by an electrically insulating surface S. Under these conditions, we find that three general principles govern the flow. First, the Lorentz force destroys kinetic energy but does not alter the net linear momentum of the fluid, nor does it change the component of angular momentum parallel to B. In certain flows, this implies that momentum, linear or angular, is conserved. Second, the Lorentz force guides the flow in such a way that the global Joule dissipation, D, decreases, and this decline in D is even more rapid than the corresponding fall in global kinetic energy, E. (Note that both D and E are quadratic in u). Third, this decline in relative dissipation, D / E, is essential to conserving momentum, and is achieved by propagating linear or angular momentum out along the magnetic field lines. In fact, this spreading of momentum along the B-lines is a diffusive process, familiar in the context of MHD turbulence. We illustrate these three principles with the aid of a number of specific examples. In increasing order of complexity we look at a spatially uniform jet evolving in time, a three-dimensional jet evolving in space, and an axisymmetric vortex evolving in both space and time. We start with a spatially uniform jet which is dissipated by the sudden application of a transverse magnetic field. This simple (perhaps even trivial) example provides a clear illustration of our three general principles. It also provides a useful stepping-stone to our second example of a steady three-dimensional jet evolving in space. Unlike the two-dimensional jets studied by previous investigators, a three-dimensional jet cannot be annihilated by magnetic braking. Rather, its cross-section deforms in such a way that the momentum flux of the jet is conserved, despite a continual decline in its energy flux. We conclude with a discussion of magnetic damping of axisymmetric vortices. As with the jet flows, the Lorentz force cannot destroy the motion, but rather rearranges the angular momentum of the flow so as to reduce the global kinetic energy. This process ceases, and the flow reaches a steady state, only when the angular momentum is uniform in the direction of the field lines. This is closely related to the tendency of magnetic fields to promote two-dimensional turbulence.

On the motion of thin airfoils in fluids of finite electrical conductivity

1960 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 449-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
James E. McCune
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
Steady Motion ◽  
Magnetic Reynolds Number ◽  
Alfven Wave ◽  
Deep Penetration ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
A Value ◽  
Finite Electrical Conductivity ◽  
Field Geometry

A two-dimensional, small-perturbation theory for the steady motion of thin lifting airfoils in an incompressible conducting fluid, with the uniform applied magnetic field perpendicular to (and in the plane of) the undisturbed, uniform flow field, is described. The conductivity of the fluid is assumed to be such that the magnetic Reynolds number,Rm, of the flow is large but finite. Within this assumption, a theory based on superposition of sinusoidal modes is constructed and applied to some simple thin airfoil problems.It is shown that with this particular field geometry the Alfvén wave mechanism is important in making possible very deep penetration into the flow field of currents and their associated vorticity. It is also shown that the current penetration for an airfoil is much larger than for a wavy wall of wavelength equal to the airfoil chord.A value ofRm= 5 is found to be a good approximation to infinity in this study; in fact, use of the present technique for values ofRmof the order of unity is permissible. These results provide an indication of what is meant by ‘large’ magnetic Reynolds number in two-dimensional magneto-aerodynamics.

A re-examination of the role of magnetic field lines in electromagnetic induction

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-248
Author(s):  
D. H. Boteler
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Field Line ◽  
Electric Fields ◽  
Electromagnetic Induction ◽  
Magnetic Reynolds Number ◽  
Unified View ◽  
Field Lines ◽  
The Magnetic Field

By adopting a view of magnetic fields, originally proposed by Faraday, in which the magnetic field changes by a movement of field lines, it is shown that a changing magnetic field can be described by the relation [Formula: see text] where v is the velocity of the magnetic field lines. These field-line velocities are shown to be the same as material velocities in conditions of infinite magnetic Reynolds number. The "moving field-line" view provides a phenomenological model of a changing magnetic field that is useful in electromagnetic induction studies. It also allows for a unified view of electromagnetic induction in which all induced electric fields can be explained by the v × B force alone.

The annihilation of a two-dimensional jet by a transverse magnetic field

1967 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. K. Moffatt ◽  
J. Toomre
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Transverse Magnetic Field ◽  
Magnetic Interaction ◽  
Transverse Magnetic ◽  
Magnetic Reynolds Number ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Dimensionless Numbers ◽  
Order Unity ◽  
The Magnetic Field

The effect of an applied transverse magnetic field on the development of a two-dimensional jet of incompressible fluid is examined. The jet is prescribed in terms of its mass flux ρQ0 and its lateral scale d at an initial section x = 0. The three dimensionless numbers characterizing the problem are a Reynolds number R = Q0/ν, a magnetic Reynolds number Rm = μσQ0, and a magnetic interaction parameter N = σB20d2/ρQ0, where ρ represents density, σ conductivity, μ permeability and B0 applied field strength, and it is assumed that \[ R_m \ll 1,\quad R\gg 1,\quad N\ll 1. \] It is shown that when M2 = RN [Gt ] 1, an inviscid treatment is appropriate, and that the effect of the magnetic field is then to destroy the jet momentum within a distance of order N−1 in the downstream direction. A general solution for inviscid development is obtained, and it is shown that a large class of velocity profiles (though not all of them) are self-preserving.When M2 [Lt ] 1, it is shown that the viscous similarity solution obtained by Moreau (1963a, b) is relevant. This solution is re-derived and re-interpreted; it implies that the jet momentum is destroyed within a distance of order $R^{\frac{1}{4}}N^{-\frac{3}{4}}$ in the downstream direction.Some further aspects of the jet annihilation problem are qualitatively discussed in § 4, viz. the nature of the overall flow field, the effect of the presence of distant boundaries, the effect of increasing Rm to order unity and greater, and the effect of oblique injection. Finally the development of a jet of conducting fluid into a nonconducting environment is considered; in this case the jet is not stopped by the magnetic field unless a return path outside the fluid for the induced current is available.

Flow induced in a cylindrical column by a uniformly rotating magnetic field

1967 ◽  
Vol 297 (1451) ◽  
pp. 558-563
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Reynolds Number ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Fourier Transforms ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Magnetic Reynolds Number ◽  
Rotating Magnetic Field ◽  
Cylindrical Column ◽  
Field Lines

Under laboratory conditions, the magnetic Reynolds number is quite small in a conductor, but can be made appreciable if a high frequency rotating field is applied. Moffatt investigated this problem for high magnetic Reynolds numbers and concluded that there existed a magnetic boundary layer due to spiralling of field lines. Applying Fourier transforms and solving the corrected equations, we find that at low magnetic Reynolds numbers the field lines uniformly penetrate the cylindrical column and do not exhibit any appreciable spiralling. The rotation opposes the drift due to conductivity which is evened out as one proceeds from the centre to the surface. This uniform behaviour persists for small magnetic Reynolds number inside and outside. When the magnetic Reynolds number becomes large, of the order of 100 (say), the field lines passing through the axis of the cylinder exhibit spiralling as suggested by Moffatt since the diffusion is unable to counterbalance the rotational effects.

Numerical studies of magnetic field annihilation

1972 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Stevenson
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Solar Flare ◽  
Electrical Resistance ◽  
Numerical Solutions ◽  
Magnetic Reynolds Number ◽  
Numerical Studies ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Field Lines ◽  
Magnitude Estimates

The behaviour of a plasma permeated by a magnetic field, where the field possessess a hyperbolic neutural point, is considered. Results from numerical solutions of the magnetohydrodynamic formulation for such flows are reported. Problems are posed with the solar flare models of Dungey, Sweet & Petschek in mind. No evidence is found to support the idea that compression of the field lines near a hyperbolic null, in the presence of electrical resistance, can radically alter the geometry of those field lines (e.g. the formation of switch-off shocks). These computations do show that, for large values of the magnetic Reynolds number, a rate of annihilation, more rapid than that derived from order-of-magnitude estimates, is possible.

Stability of a Hartmann boundary layer under the influence of a parallel magnetic field

1968 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 721-735 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Abas
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Asymptotic Methods ◽  
Transverse Magnetic ◽  
Magnetic Reynolds Number ◽  
Power Series Solution ◽  
Neutral Stability ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Parallel Magnetic Field

Stability to infinitesimal disturbances—when a parallel magnetic field is imposed—is investigated for the flow in the boundary layer set up by two-dimensional motion between parallel planes of a viscous, incompressible, electrically conducting fluid under the influence of a transverse magnetic field. The flow is assumed to take place at low magnetic Reynolds number. The usual asymptotic methods are employed for the solution, but, apart from the Tollmientype power series solution, an exact solution of the inviscid equation is obtained in terms of the hypergeometric function and its analytic continuation. Curves of neutral stability for two-dimensional disturbances are calculated and the results for critical Reynolds number modified to take into account three-dimensional disturbances. The parallel magnetic field is found to have a strong stabilizing influence.

MAGNETIC FIELD AMPLIFICATION BY RELATIVISTIC SHOCKS IN AN INHOMOGENEOUS MEDIUM

2012 ◽  
Vol 08 ◽  
pp. 364-367
Author(s):  
YOSUKE MIZUNO ◽  
MARTIN POHL ◽  
JACEK NIEMIEC ◽  
BING ZHANG ◽  
KEN-ICHI NISHIKAWA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Inhomogeneous Medium ◽  
Magnetic Energy ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Filamentary Structure ◽  
Field Amplification ◽  
Relativistic Shocks ◽  
Field Lines ◽  
Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations

We perform two-dimensional relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of a mildly relativistic shock propagating through an inhomogeneous medium. We show that the postshock region becomes turbulent owing to preshock density inhomogeneity, and the magnetic field is strongly amplified due to the stretching and folding of field lines in the turbulent velocity field. The amplified magnetic field evolves into a filamentary structure in two-dimensional simulations. The magnetic energy spectrum is flatter than the Kolmogorov spectrum and indicates that the so-called small-scale dynamo is occurring in the postshock region. We also find that the amplitude of magnetic-field amplification depends on the direction of the mean preshock magnetic field.

Turbulent dynamo action at low magnetic Reynolds number

1970 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 435-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. K. Moffatt
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Isotropic Turbulence ◽  
Magnetic Energy ◽  
Magnetic Reynolds Number ◽  
Dynamo Action ◽  
Ohmic Dissipation ◽  
Magnetic Energy Density ◽  
Magnetic Diffusivity

The effect of turbulence on a magnetic field whose length-scale L is initially large compared with the scale l of the turbulence is considered. There are no external sources for the field, and in the absence of turbulence it decays by ohmic dissipation. It is assumed that the magnetic Reynolds number Rm = u0l/λ (where u0 is the root-mean-square velocity and λ the magnetic diffusivity) is small. It is shown that to lowest order in the small quantities l/L and Rm, isotropic turbulence has no effect on the large-scale field; but that turbulence that lacks reflexional symmetry is capable of amplifying Fourier components of the field on length scales of order Rm−2l and greater. In the case of turbulence whose statistical properties are invariant under rotation of the axes of reference, but not under reflexions in a point, it is shown that the magnetic energy density of a magnetic field which is initially a homogeneous random function of position with a particularly simple spectrum ultimately increases as t−½exp (α2t/2λ3) where α(= O(u02l)) is a certain linear functional of the spectrum tensor of the turbulence. An analogous result is obtained for an initially localized field.

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